


Eternally connected with you

by Eremit



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Author is not a native speaker, Fluff, Friendship/Love, M/M, No Atonement, Post-Fourth Shinobi War, Slice of Life, Soulmates, but in ninja way, jounin Naruto Uzumaki, jounin Sasuke Uchiha, just two boys in love, putting up with Naruto is Sasuke's atonement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:06:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22617598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eremit/pseuds/Eremit
Summary: "In order to make a strong  spiritual connection with someone, you need to be bonded by love. Apart from feeling  love within oneself, apparently, it could be seen through chakra. So they built their marriage ceremony around those believes."Uzumaki hummed, because that made sense.Sort of.Bits and pieces of the boys' lives with recurring themes of marriage and love.
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 6
Kudos: 218
Collections: Extraordinary Naruto FanFics





	Eternally connected with you

The white fabric flew just above his head and Naruto let out a small laugh. His eyes were back on the cloth, which was now making its round around the garden flittering past the guests. Suddenly, the second ribbons joined the show. Two sashes were suspended high above their heads, dancing and swirling to the flute melody. It amazed Naruto how those two materials interlaced together, but somehow still remained untangled. It was truly a magical show.

When the flute melody sped up and the white fabric transfigured into dragon’s head surrounded by flames created from red sash, loud gasps and clapping were heard among the guests. Naruto himself let out a low whistle, still following the movements with shining eyes and agape mouth.

From the corner of his eye, he saw his partner’s passive face and black eye scanning the crowd rather than looking at the sky.

“Cool, right?” Naruto said, his elbow digging into Uchiha’s ribs .

Sasuke swiftly pushed his arm away and moved his gaze from the garden to his grinning companion.

“What? The flying ribbons?” Uchiha asked, blankly, but the corners of his lips twitched after Naruto’s enthusiastic nodding. “I should have known you would be so easily entertained, usuratonkachi.”

“And I should have known that you wouldn’t be able to appreciate art!” Uzumaki exclaimed, pushing his shoulder closer to Sasuke’s.

After all those years , his friend didn’t even flinch when Naruto invited himself into his personal space. His weight was pushing on Uchiha’s shoulder and the heat radiating from his friend was familiar and soothing and Naruto couldn’t help himself and inched even closer.

“Art?” Sasuke snarled as he lifted his head to look at the sashes swirling in the sky. “They just channelling chakra into ribbons.”

Well, of course Naruto knew that. But with that mesmerizing dance high above their heads it was easy to forget about two people managing the whole performance. He dragged his eyes from his friend to two figures standing at the opposite side of the garden. 

“You are such a buzz kill, Sasuke,” Naruto exclaimed, bumping their shoulders together, yearning for more contact. “Besides, isn’t it the whole point to forget about those two and believe that the ribbons are moving on their own?”

“Not when these people are your mission, moron.”

Blue eyes moved to the dark sky above them, lazy smile stretching his lips. Although, it was supposed to be an A rank mission, they haven’t broke a sweat since they’ve got to Kusagakure.

“Nah, we both know that there is no real danger after the war,” Naruto stated. “But it’s nice to be outside Konoha.”

Sasuke didn’t comment on that.

Of course, it wasn’t anything special for Uchiha, since he was practically away from Konoha all the time, but Naruto found the change of scenery really pleasing. After the war, he was occupied with changes happening inside the village and frankly, it didn’t give him much opportunities to move outside Konoha’s walls.

They didn’t talk for awhile. Naruto watched the performance with a soft smile, stealing glances at his friend from time to time.

Even though the show was mesmerizing and Naruto’s never saw anything so beautiful and graceful before, it’s also been awhile since he saw Sasuke up that close.

His jet-black hair was moving with a gust of wind and his bangs were getting long, almost hiding his Rinnegan. Despite his chaotic mission schedule and being almost constantly on the road for five years, Sasuke looked good. His face was well-rested, handsome, almost peaceful. 

There was that urge in Naruto, to brush the longer strands behind his friend’s ear, to trace the small wrinkles around his eyes, to move so close that there would be no distance between them. Maybe some time ago, he would fear the wave of emotions crashing on the walls of his heart and the sensation in his underbelly would be too much to handle, but he got used to the need. The need to touch Sasuke, to have his attention on him, to be closer.

He could try to deny all those things that Sasuke made him feel, especially, when that need became indecent and demanding, but there was no point in fighting. It was always inside him, growing with him, getting stronger with every step on his journey. So, rather than try to suppress the feeling any longer, Naruto got familiar with it, embraced it, let it be a part of him.

Loud clapping pierced the air and Uzumaki quickly averted his eyes from his friend’s profile.

The sashes were no longer swirling around each other, but finally they were laced together and falling very slowly towards the ground. Two silhouettes started walking towards the middle of the garden, holding the other ends of ribbons in their hands.

“That’s a really weird marriage ceremony” Naruto said. “Cool, but weird.”

Sasuke only let out a small puff of air and Naruto thought that this would be his friend’s only comment, but after a moment Uchiha added:

“It’s pretty traditional around here.”

“Yeah? How come?”

“Have you ever heard about chakra compatibility test?” Sasuke asked, eyeing Naruto doubtfully.

Uzumaki opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut them when nothing came to his mind. Uchiha only signed and rolled his eyes.

“Of course, you haven’t heard about it, you usuratonkachi.”

“Yeah?! Then how do you know about it, ha?!”

“Because when you were running around the garden, making fucking flower crowns, I’ve read the guidance for our actual mission.”

“I was helping with the decorations, okay?!” Naruto protested vigorously, earning displeased glances from few wedding guests. “Just give me the guidance, I’ll read it myself.”

His hand shot towards Sasuke’s jōnin flak jacket, but before Naruto was able to reach underneath it, Uchiha’s fingers were tightening around his wrists.

“Don’t you dare.”

In any other circumstances, Naruto would dare. He would sneak his hand underneath the flak jacket, he would dig his fingers into Uchiha’s ribs and he would do it to the point Sasuke would start laughing. But Naruto was on a mission and some people were already sending some weird glances their way, so he let Sasuke live another day.

“Fine,” Naruto hissed back and stuffed his hand in his pockets. “Don’t share the guidance. I’ll just ask someone what’s the deal with the ribbons.”

Uzumaki took a step forward and inclined his head to ask one of the flower girls, but a strong grip on his shoulder made him halt. 

“In the past people believed that the couple should have compatible chakras to form a successful marriage” Sasuke whispered and Naruto leant closer to hear him better. And maybe because he liked the warmness radiating from the places they were touching.

“Compatible like their chakra level is the same?” Naruto asked.

“ Not really. Compatible in a way that two people could understand each other without verbal communication. It’s basically ninshū, but somehow people from those lands believed that in order to make a strong spiritual connection with someone, you need to be bonded by love. Apart from feeling love within oneself, apparently, it could be seen through chakra. So they built their marriage ceremony around those believes and the ribbons are just the demonstration of couple’s spiritual unity and the dance proves that those two can communicate with each other without words.” 

Uzumaki hummed, because, actually that made sense.

Sort of. 

“But how they know they are meant for each other?” Naruto asked again, his eyes moving between the bride and groom. “Because sometimes people think that it’s love, but it’s not, or, or they love someone like a family, or they learn to love someone with time, or – “

Naruto felt Uchiha’s eyes on him and bit his lips to stop talking. Because Naruto wanted to asked if loving someone as a friend would be enough, but the word “friend” became foul in his mouth and even though he considered Sasuke his best friend, sometimes his thoughts about Uchiha surpassed the friendly scale.

“Love is complicated,” Naruto added softly.

“That’s way you need to find someone with their chakra compatible with yours. You can fall in love with different people your whole life, but there is only one person in this world meant to truly understand you.”

Naruto furrowed his brows and pouted his lips a little, because he wasn’t satisfied with that explanation. He still couldn’t wrap his head around how with some many different types of love someone could pinpoint that one special snowflake that was meant for life. As reading his mind, Sasuke’s voice interrupted his dwellings with his words.

“The woman in the middle,” Sasuke slightly raised his chin in the direction of the mass and Naruto’s eyes followed the movement.

The old woman was sitting in the middle of the garden, on the platform decorated with candles, her hands folded in her lap, pale eyes looking straight ahead. Naruto recognized her, since she was nice enough to compliment his flower crown when they were helping with the last minute arrangements around the area. Later he learnt, that she was also one of the people they were meant to protect during the wedding ceremony.

“ She is a matchmaker. She claims that she can see which chakras are compatible.”

Naruto whipped his head towards Sasuke so quickly, that he felt his hitai-ate shifting on his forehead. He searched for any traces of mockery on Sasuke’s face, but Uchiha looked as stoic as ever, with his hand in the pocket and eyes following the sash.

“Are you serious?” Uzumaki asked with a disbelieve. “A matchmaker?”

“She’s also a powerful sensor type, but apparently “matchmaker” is her official title.”

The tangled sash made it into the lap of the elder woman and the couple carefully approached her platform. 

The bride and groom stretched their hands towards the matchmaker with the loose ends of their ribbons and bowed their heads. The flute melody suddenly stopped and it looked like the whole crowd froze in anticipation. After few minutes of silence, nothing happened.

“Now what?” he whispered to Sasuke, slowly getting impatient.

“Now we are waiting, moron,” Uchiha hissed back, bumping his shoulder with his friend. “If the matchmaker is pleased with their chakra compatibility performance, then they are good.”

“ So she can just cancel a whole wedding because she didn’t like their ribbon show?!” Uzumaki asked and he didn’t miss how Uchiha’s lips stretched into a small smirk. “Damn, those people are taking marriages really seriously.”

“I’m not surprised” Sasuke answered. “Those marriages officiated by the matchmaker cannot be undone. They are eternal.”

Naruto’s heart started hammering quicker, when Sasuke’s mismatching eyes moved towards him, with his last sentence.

They both knew about the power that the word “eternal” held. It meant that even after their bodies were gone, even after the world turned to ashes, their souls would remained connected forever. It described the bond so powerful that would overcome everything what’s mortal and time itself.

And Naruto wanted that.

Suddenly, he felt too hot in his heavy jōnin jacket. The familiar feeling caused by Uchiha was enveloping his whole body and Naruto let himself be swallowed by Sasuke’s mesmerizing gaze. His bandaged hand twitched closer to the empty space, where Sasuke’s hand should be, his fingertips brushing so slightly his empty sleeve.

With a cheerful salute coming from the garden, Naruto snapped from his daze. He saw the elder woman placing her hands on the couple’s heads, before handing them back the sashes. Two ends of the ribbons were knotted together and –

“And now they are stuck together for good” he heard Sasuke’s soft whisper and before he could react, Uchiha was peeling his body away from him, leaving Naruto’s side unbearably cold.

“So I talked with that elder lady,” Naruto started the conversation on their way back to Konoha.

He was stealing glances at Sasuke, since they’ve left the village and either Uchiha didn’t notice those not-so-subtle looks, or he tried really hard to ignore them.

“Of course, you talked with that elder lady” Sasuke whispered under his nose.

“Ah! So you can talk!” Naruto teased, trying to earn any kind of reaction from his friend. “I talked with her, because I wanted to know what she sees!”

Uchiha didn’t even bother with commenting, suddenly looking very busy with spinning one of kunai around his finger. Uzumaki narrowed his eyes at him, but after a while of being ignored, he pushed his friend in the arm.

“Aren’t you curious what she told me?”

“Not really, no.”

“She actually cannot see with her eyes, but she can “see” people as their chakras,” Uzumaki continued despite his friend’s sighing. His blue eyes were sparkling with excitement and maybe he wanted to prove Sasuke that he also can learn something cool and interesting during their mission. “And you would never guessed what she told me about my chakra!”

“Isn’t it obvious what she told you?” Uchiha said, matching Naruto’s cocky smirk.

“Oh really?” Naruto taunted.

His smile turned into that type of shit eating grins that he knew Sasuke couldn’t stand. Maybe after all those years, Uchiha got more used to that expression, but still he sent the kunai straight into Uzumaki’s face to make him stop. Naruto caught it with ease and started swirling it around his own finger.

“Please, enlighten me, Mr. I-know-everything.”

“She probably told you that your chakra is just like you,” Uchiha explained. “ Really intense, all over the place and hard to look at.”

“Teme!”

Naruto flung the weapon back at his friend and by the way, Sasuke’s lips twitched, he definitely expected that kunai heading his way.

“You’re a dick, Sasuke” Naruto huffed.

Uchiha only shrugged, not necessarily effected by that epithet. 

“But am I wrong?”

Naruto’s eyes narrowed, his mouth set into a thin line and he really should be more mad at Uchiha’s brashness. But then Sasuke’s smirk turned into a smile and Uzumaki felt his own body moving by itself and the corners of his mouth went up.

“She said that it’s bright, okay?! Like really bright.”

“Did she used words _really bright_ ?”

“Okay, maybe she said _blinding bright_! But it’s good! It means it’s positive and warm and strong!”

Uchiha hummed in mocking agreement and before Naruto could bumped his arm with him, he sent the kunai back towards the blond head.

“Also” Uzumaki added, this time more calmly, passing the kunai from one hand to another. “She said that my chakra is constantly moving, swirling really fast and spreading.”

“That would mean, it’s all over the place” Sasuke proposed and honestly, Uchiha was trying to get himself killed by saying those snarky comments when Naruto was wielding a weapon. But Uchiha caught the kunai right next to his neck and turned in between his long fingers.

Blue eyes narrowed at his friend and Naruto could see that mischievous sparkle in Uchiha’s eyes, he hadn’t seen for a very long time.

“ What the fuck?” Naruto cursed a little bit breathless, tilting his head to have a better look at his friend’s Rinnegan. “Are you now also a sensor type?!”

Sasuke’s lips curved into a smug smirk, mismatching eyes still playful and distracting and Naruto felt like he was 12 again, bickering with his best friend on their way back to the village. He welcomed the butterflies in his stomach like a long-lost friends coming back home, the tightness in his chest made him dazed and thrilled at the same time, his palm was sweaty, his cheeks shade darker.

Oh god, how much he missed all of that.

“Or maybe it’s just your chakra I can feel so clearly,” Sasuke said with one last smirk, before turning towards the road.

Naruto felt a little bit light-headed when he caught the kunai pointed at his heart.

Naruto snatched the last piece of sizzling pork, right before Sakura’s chopstick could even touch it. He let out a small laugh, seeing Haruno’s face twisting into a grimace, but soon stopped, when her fists started bawling on the table.

“Okay, let’s raise our glasses and make a toast!” Kiba shouted, nudging Shikamaru to grab his glass. “To my cool, new home!”

“Ugh, Kiba, we were drinking to your boring flat like 5 times already,” Ino stated and rested her head on the hand. “ We should drink to my new shop!”

“Hey, my flat isn’t boring! And- AND we gathered here to celebrate my moving out, so we will drink to me!”

“Well, I was told that it was supposed to be a party and somehow nothing about that small, dusty flat of y –“

Before anyone could react, Kiba already pushed his way towards Ino to defend his awesome new home and managing to spill much of his drink in the process. 

When those two were bickering, the rest of the gang busied themselves with the food and drinks around the table.

Hinata went back to her vegetables, Sakura took the opportunity to steal some meat from Ino’s plate and Shino remained situated between Ino and Kiba just in case their argument would become more heated. Shikamaru sighed and brought his cigarette closer to his lips, trying to mute down their shouting.

“It’s troublesome that we need to toast every round” Nara complained.

“Nah, I think it’s nice to drink to something” Naruto interjected, with his mouth full of rice.

“I agree” Sakura said.” It’s also a good way to slow down some people’s extreme drinking pace.”

Her emerald eyes slid down over Ino stretched arms, still holding a drink and trying not to spill anything while, relentlessly arguing with Kiba.

“You better come up with good toast since those two are still bickering, ‘cause I’m not drinking to dogs and flowers again.”

Sakura added some more beef to the grill, her face drawn into a little pout, thinking about a perfect toast.

“Maybe… maybe we could drink to Naruto’s successful arrival back to Konoha?” Hinata’s timid voice brought everybody’s attention towards her.

“I can drink to that,” Sakura agreed, nudging Naruto’s side. “It’s also your party, right, Naruto?”

“I mean…” Naruto hesitated with his chopsticks hovering over some mushrooms. Kiba mentioned something about celebrating his coming back to Konoha after 3 months in Suna, but honestly, Naruto couldn’t care less for the reason of the gathering. He was just glad that he finally could spend some time with his friends. “There is nothing to celebrate, really.”

“Of course there is” Sakura insisted. “Hokage’s office has been so dull without you. I got used to Sasuke being away, but it’s weird when you are not around.”

Uzumaki couldn’t stop the smile creeping on his lips, but it didn’t exactly reach his eyes. It was nice to hear that his friend missed him, but he felt something squeezing around his heart when he heard Sasuke’s name.

Even though, they never talked about it, he suspected that Sakura got over her childhood crush at some point. But hearing, for the first time that she wasn’t really affected by Sasuke’s absence felt different. Especially since, Uchiha was exactly the main reason that Naruto wanted to be away from Konoha in the first place… 

“So I guess we will drink to Naruto” Shikamaru raised his glass with a small smile.

“To Naruto!”

Uzumaki lifted his drink with a sheepish grin and drunk it in one go.

It was good to be back, to hear Sakura’s laughter, to see Hinata’s blushing face, to smell Shikamaru’s cigarettes in the air… He felt relaxed around his friends and he would lie if he said that he hadn’t missed them at all, but… But still he couldn’t get rid of the tension in his shoulders and there was a certain emptiness gaping from his heart.

And maybe the tension would be gone after welcoming the hawk with a message in the morning, but he knew that the emptiness would remain for a few more days. 

“Hey! Did you guys just drink without us?!” Kiba yelled from the other side of the room.

“It happens when you’re too busy with pointless arguing” Sakura exclaimed.

“It wasn’t pointless,” Kiba said and sat down next to Hinata. “Now I know for sure that Ino is just jealous of my house, because she still lives with her parents.”

“Please. I’m just waiting for better options after Hokage’s approval of ninja marriage.”

Naruto instantly raised his head at the word “marriage” and looked at smirking Ino with wide eyes.

“Ninja marriage?” he repeated and Ino vigorously nodded. “What’s that?”

Naruto felt his friends’ eyes burning into him and for a moment he thought that ninja marriage was the most obvious thing in the world and he was just an idiot who hasn’t heard about it.

“Oh, yeah, you don’t know , do you?” Sakura came to his rescue with her forgiving tone and small smile. “It makes sense, since the idea came up right after you left for Suna.”

Naruto furrowed his brows, because honestly, he wasn’t away for that long. It’s been only 3 months and he established with Kakashi that he would be informed of any crucial reforms in Konoha. And maybe it wasn’t life and death situation but a project concerning marriages seemed like a pretty big deal to him!

“So what is this all about?”

“It’s just a new regulation that enable two ninjas to have the privileges of the standard marriage,” Sakura informed him.

“Oh, that seems cool.”

“Yeah, the taxes are less problematic” Shikamaru added.

“And you have rights to know about your partners medical condition and decide about their treatment if they are not able to make a decision” Sakura listed.

“You can also requested more missions with your partner.”

“Yeah!” Ino chimed in, leaning into Sakura to have a better look at Naruto. “And you get a house!”

Naruto’s eyes sparkled with excitement, because it was exactly want he needed. 

Last time, he had to annoy Kakashi for a week to let him go for that long term mission to Suna. He wouldn’t mind speeding the whole process and just throw at Hokage “the marriage card”, rather than repeating “I need to stretch my legs, Kakashi-sensei” and “ I’m feeling the walls of the office closing around me, I need open space!” for a week. And honestly, he didn’t know shit about taxes, he always tossed the papers into Iruka’s mail box and it magically solved the problem. He could definitely do with a new house, the plants expended to the bathroom and it would be so much easier to wake up on time, when he will be living with Sas –

“That’s good, because it’s also temporary.”

Okay, that wasn’t a part of his vision.

“Temporary?” Naruto asked with a frown.

“Yes, it’s not an actual marriage,” Shikamaru explained. “It’s just a pact between two ninjas, it’s not taken because of love but convenience. When one person gets married for real, the deal is off.”

Uzumaki hummed to himself, deep frown not leaving his face. He definitely needed to know more about the whole “ninja marriage”. Because as much as he liked the benefits, the “temporary” part didn’t sit well with him.

“Oh, Shikamaru. It’s such a negative approach” Ino mused with a teasing smile. “ Sometimes things starts from convenience, but they can always blossom into love with time. Don’t you think, Sakura?”

Haruno seemed to be taken aback by that question, gawking at the blond kunoichi with a blush spreading from her cheeks to ears. Kiba took the opportunity to refill empty glasses and was ready to break the silence with another toast, but Sakura spoke first.

“Let’s drink to that,” she announced, finally finding her voice. Her emerald eyes were full of determination when she held Ino’s gaze. “To love.”

“To love!”

When he opened his eyes, he immediately felt it.

The wave of emotions. The pull on his guts. The shift in the air.

Sasuke was back in Konoha.

He was tempted to drop by Uchiha’s flat before going to Hokage’s office, but then he would be late again and Kakashi would give him extra work to reprimand him that a future Hokage shouldn’t be late. Which was quite ironic, coming from Kakashi.

However, Naruto’s done everything he could to speed up his today’s work. He even skipped his lunch break to sort the mission reports and when he caught the glimpse of Sasuke’s name on one of the papers, he felt a new wave of determination.

He brushed off Kakashi’s comments about his surprisingly enthusiastic approach towards paper work, because right now he didn’t need smug comments. He needed to get the hell out of here and go to Sasuke. After few hours of tossing the reports, Naruto was dismissed with last snarky remark about absence making the heart grow.

His feet stamped loudly on the roofs of the passing buildings and he could swear that there was something pulling him by the front of his shirt to speed him up. His hand was itching, his heart was hammering so loud and he knew, _he felt_ , he was getting closer. With few more jumps, he landed on Sasuke’s windowsill.

“If you crashed my tomato’s plant again, you are dead to me.”

Despite the threat, Naruto grinned as wide as possible, when Sasuke appeared in front of him.

“Relax, they are fine,” Uzumaki said firmly, but still touched the leaves to make sure that his jump didn’t damage the plant.

“Careful,” Sasuke said, seeing as Naruto turned the leaves between his fingers.

“I know how to take care of tomatoes!” Naruto exclaimed, moving the pot closer to himself. “Who do you think take care of them when you are on your missions?!”

Naruto stopped breathing, when Sasuke’s face appeared merely few centimetres away, his hair moving by the sudden air blast, his Rinnegan peeking behind his bangs. As much as Naruto wanted to lean just a little bit forward, he stayed in the same position, one hand grasping the window frame to keep his balance.

“I thought it was the famous tomato elves” Uchiha was smirking and Naruto hated the blush that covered his face.

Because they both knew that tomato elves were bullshit and Naruto made them up to cover the fact that he bought Sasuke a present. And somehow it was easier to come up with little, sneaky elves who left the plants on a windowsill of the most grumpiest person in the village, than to say the truth.

And Naruto committed to his story.

Every time Uchiha seemed to be especially snappy, the new pot of tomatoes appear in his home. It was fun and harmless and somehow Sasuke seemed to be less bitchy the next day, so it was all worth it. Thinking of that, it was a long time since Naruto needed to buy a new pot of tomatoes.

“Whatever, teme” Naruto said and put down the pot he was still holding. “Better tell me what are you making.”

With a last glance towards his friend, Uchiha moved away from the window.

“Just hijiki salad with tofu.”

“But I don’t like salads!” Naruto complained, still crouching outside Sasuke’s apartment.” And tofu!”

“Well, you weren’t invited for this dinner so…” Uchiha said with a little smirk, moving to toss vegetables into a bowl.

And to think that Naruto skipped his lunch for that bastard.

With a long sigh, he dropped down into Sasuke’s kitchen floor and slumped down on one of the chairs in dining area. He would do everything for Sasuke, he would even eat those tasteless salads, just to have an excuse to spend more time with him.

He watched his friend moving around the kitchen, blue eyes soaking the image of his friends, his gaze drifting from black eye, taut biceps, empty sleeve of the black sweater, and Naruto felt at peace. No tense muscles, no anxiety, just the familiar buzzing in the air that he always associated with Sasuke. 

“Dig in,” Naruto looked at the bowl in front of him and his lips stretched into a big smile when he saw pieces of chicken between seaweeds and carrots. “And I don’t want to hear any complains about vegetables.“

“I was thinking about cutting my hair.”

Sasuke brought his gaze towards his friend, black eye boring into Naruto’s profile.

They were walking back from the training grounds, the buzz of the adrenaline still in their veins and even thought they sparred not so far away from Sasuke’s flat, somehow they ended up going further into the city.

“What’s wrong with your hair now?”

“I don’t know, “ Naruto shrugged and looked at the road in front of them. “ Sakura said I should look more presentable for a council.”

Uzumaki didn’t miss the little lift of Uchiha’s lips.

“Ah, so she wants you to look civilized for once.“

“Hey!”

Naruto bumped his arms with Sasuke, because of course only Uchiha would twisted his words in a way to make a jab at him.

Sasuke didn’t say anything and honestly, Naruto would leave the subject of his hair after that, but today he felt in a mood to talk with his friend and maybe he also missed Sasuke’s voice…

“So… You don’t think I should cut them?” Naruto asked. He bumped their hips together, guiding Uchiha towards one of the back alleys.

“Does it matter what I think about your hair?” Uchiha rasped. “It’s your hair, do whatever you want.”

First of all, rude.

Second of all, of course Naruto cared what Sasuke thought about him. Uchiha’s opinion was always the most valuable one, because Sasuke was brutally honest with him and no matter how cryptic Naruto would be, Sasuke always understood.

“I know it’s my decision, but it’s nice to hear other’s opinions, you prick,” Naruto said and sue him if he pouted a little bit.

They walked in silence, Uchiha with his blank face and Naruto trying very hard not to look anywhere near Sasuke. Finally Uchiha let out a long sigh.

“Do you really want to know what I think?” Sasuke asked, giving Naruto his full attention. “If you want to please the council, then go ahead, cut them. But it’s not like you. You are not some polished, well-beheaded puppet , that would blindly obey and adjust to their expectations.”

Sasuke’s voice was low and firm, and honestly Naruto felt like his friend was putting a spell on him with his words. He was mesmerized by mismatched eyes shining under the light of street lamps and if someone asked him what was the famous Will of Fire, he would said that, it was Uchiha’s eyes right now. Full of passion and determination, so honest and raw with emotions.

Naruto couldn’t bring himself to talk and maybe it was for the best, because Sasuke was speaking again, this time more calmly. 

“Naruto Uzumaki, I know is wild, unpredictable and able to change the future. Don’t let them strip you down from your asset, just because it didn’t suit their vision.”

Naruto stopped in the middle of the road, unable to move any further. Uchiha’s words were ringing in his ears, familiar warmness spreading inside him and it was just too much for his poor heart to handle. He felt tears gathering in the corners of his eyes, but also there was laughter babbling in his throat and of course he felt too much, _too deeply_ because of Sasuke.

Uchiha halted few steps away from him and Naruto felt unease knowing that there was any distance between them.

“But like I said” Sasuke exclaimed with a little smile playing on his lips. “It’s your hair, do whatever you want.” 

Naruto was spinning in the chair in Hokage’s office, looking through different mission requests. There was this one particular interesting in Yugakure concerning unusual blue mist spreading around the village. Even thought the mission supposed to be an C rank, due to the fact that the mist wasn’t affecting the villagers in any way, Naruto wouldn’t pass the opportunity on hot springs. He started to wonder, how much he needed to annoy Kakashi to not only allow him but also Sasuke go on a C rank mission.

“Naruto,” Uzumaki lifted his head and looked at Kakashi. “Would you mind officiating a ninja marriage after lunch?”

Naruto spun in his chair, humming.

“I thought that today aren’t any scheduled.”

“That’s right, but apparently someone seems to be in hurry to marry,” Kakashi said with a small smile.

Naruto processed the words in his head and nodded reluctantly.

It wouldn’t be the first time he would officiate the marriage. Maybe he had his hopes high the first time, buzzing with excitement and pride, feeling the responsibility of officiating something important. He even wore a fucking shirt to look more official!

But the whole thing was simply underwhelming.

It took few minutes and his role wasn’t anything big, he was there just to ask if both parties were aware of the rules and signed the agreement. As he skimmed over the papers and their signatures, the pair shook their hands and with the words of congratulations, they were gone from the office.

Naruto stood there, grasping the papers and repeating in his head Shikamaru’s word.

That this marriage wasn’t taken because of love, but because of convenience. It wasn’t a marriage ceremony, it was a signing of a deal. He wasn’t a matchmaker and the ninja marriage could be undone in any given time.

He understood all of that, he understood the purpose of this act, but still he couldn’t get rid of the feeling that calling it a marriage was wrong.

Naruto busied himself with Kakashi’s other weird requests, just to stop dwelling on the feeling. After half an hour, he was back at Hokage’s desk, peering through Hatake’s shoulder and scanning the pages in front of them.

And then, he felt the light pull, the lightness in his bones, his heart skipped a beat and he couldn’t contain his smile.

“Did you find something amusing in Konoha Bank’s power shortage?” Kakashi asked without taking his eyes from the papers.

“No! No, it’s just…” Naruto quickly said. “Sasuke is heading back to Konoha.”

Hatake propped up his head on his hand and brought his eyes towards Naruto.

“Ah, I should feel hurt that my former student isn’t sharing news of his retreat with me first,” Kakashi said with mocking hurt in his voice. “Especially, since he was supposed to come back by the end of the week.”

“Oh, but Sasuke didn’t message me or anything. I just – I just feel it. In a way.”

Naruto didn’t know why, but he felt blush creeping on his cheeks, when Kakashi smiled at him in that knowing way.

“And what a powerful weapon is to feel,” Kakashi mused, taking great pleasure in seeing Naruto’s face getting brighter and brighter. “ For example, I can’t feel Sasuke’s chakra, but I can _feel_ your chakra and let me tell you, someone seems to be very excited. ”

Naruto started shaking his head, trying so very hard to hide his blush. He just wanted a normal, not problematic day at work, but hell no! Apparently everyone was a sensor type now!

“It’s not like that! I can’t – I can’t turn it off! I just – I just feel it!”

Uzumaki saw like Kakashi closed his eyes in a smile and this time it wasn’t a teasing one.

“And that should be enough, Naruto.”

Before Naruto could respond, Kakashi was speaking again.

“Also, could you find the permission for school trip to Tanigakure?”

Naruto didn’t ask why, even thought he knew it was for Iruka-sensei and Naruto didn’t comment on the fact that Umino clearly announced that he would be able to pick the list after lunch. He was just glad he could get away from Kakashi and his knowing smile for awhile.

On his way to the lunch, he bumped into Iruka-sensei, who was just heading upstairs. With few words about Kakashi’s chaotic schedule and his chronic forgetfulness about lunch, his formal teacher disappeared behind the door to the Hokage’s office.

And in that moment, Naruto came up with a plan.

Maybe any other occasion, he would take the opportunity to also tease Kakashi about Iruka babysitting him, but he just couldn’t miss the opportunity to welcome Sasuke at the gate. He could felt him getting closer, because no matter how cheesy it sounded, the world around Naruto seemed to be little less dim and his every breath was a little bit lighter and he knew that in an hour he would be bouncing with excitement and he wouldn’t be able to sit still in the office. So, honestly, he was actually doing Kakashi a favour. He knew that Iruka would stick around even past lunch time and make sure that Kakashi wouldn’t overwork himself, and Hatake would be fawning over Umino’s great care, and there was a possibility that Naruto’s clone would go unnoticed. 

And maybe this plan was created in few seconds and it definitely wasn’t perfect, but damn, Naruto really hoped it would be enough.

After a week of raining, sun was finally back in Konoha.

Naruto appreciated the change of weather even more, since today was his day off and he was really looking forward to leave his apartment. He brought his morning glass of milk with him as he glided around the living room and checked the condition of his plants. Most of them seemed to be in perfect condition, except for one.

Naruto crouched on the ground and narrowed his eyes at little jade plant. There was definitely something wrong with that succulent, because Naruto could swear he tried everything, but the plant didn’t seem to grow even a bit. He tried putting it in direct sun, he tried more shadowy places, up on the shelf, down on the ground, he even surrendered the pot with different succulent buddies, because maybe the jade plant felt lonely.

Last time he bumped into Ino he asked her about that problem, but Ino said that sometimes that happened and maybe the plant was doomed from the start.

And Naruto didn’t like that scenario one bit.

“Come on, buddy” Naruto said, lifting the plant from the ground and pushing the door to the balcony. “Let’s bring you outside.”

Uzumaki moved around for awhile, arranging other plants to make a place for his jade plant.

“Here we go” he exclaimed cheerfully, proud of his work. “Not too sunny, not to dark. Perfect place to grow tall and strong!”

After taking care of rest of his plants on the balcony, Naruto plumbed down on the chair.

He closed his eyes and immediately his heart skipped a beat, when he sensed familiar energy not so far away.

Sasuke’s chakra was moving steadily through streets of Konoha and Naruto couldn’t stop his smile, when Uchiha took the road, leading to his apartment.

Even though Naruto could sense chakras in Sage mode, Uchiha’s chakra was always unique for him. He wondered how people could walk next to Sasuke and not be effected by that powerful wave of energy. If Naruto hadn’t learnt to be accustomed to Sasuke’s chakra, he would be swept of his feet every time he could feel his friend getting near. It was forceful and blazing , lethal but extremely tempting and captivating. It was that kind of energy that brought people to their knees, it was mysterious and intriguing, and so soothing and it was something so familiar to Naruto, that he felt unbelievable empty every time it was too far away.

But now, he could feel that Sasuke was right around the corner and anytime Uchiha would be standing in his door steps. And that knowledge filled him with comfort.

However, after a few minutes of waiting, nothing happened. He looked outside his balcony and immediately spotted the familiar black hair on the other side of the road.

But Sasuke wasn’t alone.

Uchiha was talking with a woman and even though her back was turned towards his building, Naruto recognized her from Kakashi’s office. She would occasionally visit and asked for high rank missions and from the way she talked with Hokage, they must have known each other for a long time.

She was beautiful, smart, former Anbu and from her body language Naruto could tell she wanted something from Sasuke.

And when she tilted her head, tucked the dark strand of hair behind the ear and she smirked towards Sasuke, Naruto knew exactly what she wanted. And it filled him with rage.

By now, he should be used to people trying to woo Uchiha. After all his sins being forgiven, after the truth of Uchiha’s massacre being revealed to the public, after saving the world, Sasuke was winning people of Konoha back. Not only that, with amount of missions he was doing, it was safe to say, that people around the world were pretty much familiar with new, more approachable version of Uchiha.

And Naruto wasn’t dumb, he knew why Sasuke was always talking the long-term, long-distance missions. It was supposed to be his redemption path and a way to slowly get accustomed to living in Konoha again, but sometimes it looked like an escape.

There were days when Naruto feared that he would lose Sasuke to freedom, that someday he would go on a mission and wouldn’t come back.

But more than that, Naruto feared that he would lose him to other person. 

So now, he was assessing the dark hair beauty, who was making Sasuke smirk and her eyes were sparkling and Naruto felt his blood boiling.

He could hear Kurama’s comments how _of course_ it was that Uchiha kid’s fault that Naruto lose his shit again, but the only thing he could focus on right now was the curve of her lips when she said Sasuke’s name, how Sasuke seemed to be relaxed around her, how good they looked together.

Naruto didn’t know when he gripped the railing but he let go, when he felt the metal denting under his hands.

They were too infuriating to look at, but at the same time he couldn’t look away.

As Naruto anticipated their quick departure, the dark-haired kunoichi left with a last smile. But when she moved from the picture, Naruto didn’t expect a piercing black eye staring right at him.

Naruto held Sasuke’s gaze and even though he wasn’t sure what Uchiha saw in his eyes, he definitely wasn’t pleased. In the next moment, his friend was gone from the road and Naruto felt familiar energy right behind his back. 

“ Itama the jade plant isn’t growing” Uzumaki said, turning towards his friend.

Of course he wanted to ask about that pretty kunoichi, he felt within himself the need to know, to be sure that Sasuke wasn’t interested in her, but somehow he didn’t trust himself to talk about it, when he could still feel anger sizzling under his skin.

“I tried putting him in different spots, but it didn’t work.”

Uchiha moved next to him and rested his back on the railings.

“Maybe stop moving him around and just keep him in one good place,” Sasuke said, keeping his eyes on the jade plant. “It looks like he needs more sun.”

“I can’t give him more! There’s like no sun in this flat after a certain hour!”

“Good thing that my home is pretty sunny” Uchiha exclaimed with a little smirk playing on his lips. “I’ll be expecting jade plant fairies to drop him tomorrow.”

Naruto laughed, loud and honest and inched a little bit closer, just enough for his arm to touch Sasuke’s.

One good place to keep growing, Naruto thought looking at the streets of Konoha. And that’s enough.

“I think we should get married.”

Despite his hammering heart, Naruto tried to remain still. Only his legs were dangling from the balcony of the watchtower, his heels hitting the north gate underneath them.

Sasuke rested his back on the wall behind them and Naruto was painfully aware how little space remained between them.

“ Ninja marriage?” Uchiha asked without missing a beat.

Naruto heard the smirk in Sasuke’s voice and his tone was light and teasing, and maybe he wasn’t reacting as bad as Naruto thought.

“Yeah, ” Naruto started and took a big breath before continuing. “I was thinking about it for a moment, because I want to go on more missions with you and be able to be the first one to react if something bad happened and – and those other important staff, but… Ugh, but it’s just a paper, Sasuke. It’s just a deal without emotions and feelings. And – and it’s just for a moment, it’s not a family… It’s not a real marriage!”

His heart was about to explode and his head felt too heavy for his neck to support, so he rested it on the railings, eyes tracing the wrinkles on his trousers.

“And marriage supposed to be eternal. Right, Sasuke?” Naruto added this time more quietly.

Uchiha shifted his weight from one leg to another, his hand in his pocket, eyes on the night sky.

“Ah. So you were thinking about that ribbon show.”

Naruto felt his lips twitching and he let out a small laugh. It wasn’t as half as stressful as he thought it would be.

“Yeah” he admitted, turning his face towards Sasuke. “That and like… million other things.”

He looked at Sasuke in his jōnin outfit. Tall and handsome and everything Naruto wanted.

“I was thinking about how things are more peaceful now and how everybody is starting to get their shit together. I was thinking about our friends, about working with Kakashi-sensei, about Iruka’s classes. I was thinking about plants, dinners, books, missions, about home, about marriage…. I was thinking about all those stuff, but… but honestly, all the time I was thinking about you.”

Blue eyes were flashing with emotions, with determination and hope and longing and stubbornness and Naruto could see something shifting in Sasuke’s eyes. Okay, maybe he wished he could see it. The darkness around them made it almost impossible to see anything, but as hell, he could _feel the pull_ , he could _feel_ that something shifted inside Sasuke.

Uchiha let out a long sigh and bumped the back of his head on the wall.

“ Do you even know what you are saying, Naruto?”

Sasuke’s tone was low and strained and honestly, Naruto didn’t know if he liked it.

“Yeah! Of course, I know!” Uzumaki yelled back, suddenly on his feet.

Sasuke just looked at him for awhile, accessing his friend with his piercing gaze. It was so hard to know what Uchiha was actually thinking, but Naruto felt his chakra blazing, so close but still out of his reach.

“Don’t you want kids, Naruto?” Sasuke asked. “Don’t you want a family worth the next Hokage?”

“Yeah, of course I want that!” Uzumaki firmly exclaimed. “But you see, that’s another reason why ninja marriage sucks! It’s not really about family. So it wouldn’t allow us to adopt kids!”

Sasuke’s eyes widened and the sudden intensity of his energy passing through Naruto was overwhelming. But it went away, almost as quickly as it came.

“But do you understand that you’re supposed to feel romantic connection with someone you want to marry? Especially for eternity?” Uchiha asked carefully.

“Of course I know that!” Naruto yelled and punched his friend in the arm. “What the fuck, Sasuke? I know how those things work!”

And then it was silence. And more silence.

For a moment, Naruto thought he broke Sasuke, because Uchiha was only looking at him and he didn’t know if he supposed to say anything else or just let his friend soaked it all in. He was so close to Sasuke, he could just kiss him now, but the whole damn time, he was the only pouring his feelings out and Sasuke just bombarded him with stupid questions, without contributing anything important to the conversation.

Like for example, his thoughts on getting married.

“It’s just…” Naruto said, because it was easier than waiting for a judgment in silence. “What do you want me to say, Sasuke? That I don’t know shit about marriage? That I’m doing it just because I want to keep you in Konoha?! But that’s not fucking true! I’m doing it, because I’m sure about my feelings for you! And believe me, I am way past that platonic shit! I’m now in “my fucking chakra and soul are bonded to you” zone and even if you don’t feel it that way or – or marriage is just too much for you, I just – I just want you to know that I would always be in love with you. ”

Naruto wasn’t sure when Sasuke activated his Sharingan, but he let out a small gasp when he saw the red glimmer in Uchiha’s eye.

And Sasuke actually laughed, just for a moment. He felt Uchiha’s arm touching his, his weight pushing on Uzumaki’s shoulder and it was so warm and familiar.

“So? What do you say, Sasuke? Would you like to stick with me for eternity?” Naruto asked, playfully nudging his friend.

“I’ve already given you my answer” Uchiha explained and nudged his confused friend back. “5 years ago.”

“What?!”

Naruto was stupid.

He heard it throughout his whole life, but after yesterday’s events, he might have actually admitted it to himself.

To his own defence, he was so intoxicated by Sasuke’s chakra, wrapping itself around Uzumaki’s body and soul, that he forgot about the whole world. Even though, they were just talking and staring at the sky the whole time, he felt like he was on the cloud nine. Naruto didn’t know when the time past, but by the end of their shift, Sasuke was called to Hokage’s office with new, urgent mission and even thought Uchiha was gone, Naruto could still felt his chakra lingering on his skin.

And that was enough.

At least, until Naruto got home, slid under the covers and then the realization hit him.

He didn’t kiss Sasuke.

He was craving that kind of contact with Uchiha the whole damn time, and when he finally could do it, they just talked. And it wasn’t even the type of emotional conversation that couples were having! No, they were just bickering with each other about how lame Naruto’s proposal was and how Sasuke definitely wouldn’t take part in that ribbon ceremony. But it was just so reassuring that Sasuke felt the same pull the whole time, that he wanted to marry him and Naruto got drunk on the mere idea that Uchiha in fact could belong with him for the eternity.

So when he went to work in the morning, he was running on the fumes of his excitement and Sasuke’s chakra stirring inside him, but his absentminded approached towards different tasks made his work unbearably hard. It didn’t help that today the whole office seemed to be falling apart, someone misplaced the most important files and Iruka wasn’t around to distract Kakashi from Naruto’s slipping away from all of that mess.

By the time, he finished his work, it was already night time and Naruto knew that in few hours Sasuke was heading towards Iwagakure to investigate some mysterious poisonings and the problem with all investigations was that no one knew how long could it last.

So he quickly jumped into a shower, put his hoodie on and ran towards the gate. He felt Sasuke’s energy still in Konoha, so he knew that there was still a chance to catch him, before his mission.

“Sasuke!” Naruto yelled, when he saw his friend standing near the gate. What he didn’t expected was two heads peeking from behind Sasuke and looking at him curiously.

“Oh, hello” Uzumaki waved towards two girls standing next to his friend. “I didn’t know it was a team mission.”

“Not really. I’m just escorting them to Ame on the way to Iwa.”

“Oh.”

Because fuck, that was his luck today. Even if he was able to catch Sasuke before the mission , they still weren’t able to get a private moment with those two girls practically glued to Uchiha’s side. Naruto noticed that both kunoichi were stomping impatiently in the place and all the eyes were turned in his direction, as waiting for him to say something.

“I just – I just wanted to wish you a good trip.”

“Is that all?”

No.

“Yeah” Naruto answered, combing his fingers through his hair. “Get the girls safe to Ame and take care of yourself, Sasuke.”

“Obviously.”

As he watched them disappeared between trees, Naruto thought that he would be able to wait.

But when he felt a sudden gust of wind, long fingers clenching the front of his hoodie and pulling him in, when he felt Sasuke’s lips on his, he knew he was gone.

“Fuck,” he rasped, his hands full of Sasuke’s hair, his breath ghosting near Uchiha’s ear. “If you won’t be back in a week, I’m gonna hunt your ass down, Sasuke.”

Naruto could feel Uchiha’s lips stretching into a smile, just before kissing him one last time.

“I’ve waited 5 years for you to understand. I think you can wait a few weeks.”

And with those words, Sasuke was gone, leaving Naruto with a hammering heart and tingling lips. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!


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